Apr 17 How One Woman is Disrupting the Real Estate Industry

Discussing business ideas at the dinner table was not out of the ordinary for a young Jilliene Helman while growing up. Her father had been an entrepreneur for over 40 years, while her mother worked in luxury real estate. As a teenager, she was already consulting for her father's business, and knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. Though her passion for business and innovation were inherent, determination also played a key role in her success.

At the end of the day, business is about execution, and I want to see more women get involved, more women put up a fight” - Jilliene Helman

Helman attended Georgetown University to major in International Business and Management. Understanding the importance of a global perspective, she would go on to spend her junior and senior year on a backpacking journey to Beijing and a semester in Barcelona before returning home. After an internship with Rolling Stone magazine, Helman made her way back to the West Coast and joined a training program at Union Bank. There she spent time with brokers, real estate lenders,and trust officers. It gave her a 360 degree view of wealth management.

Real estate is kind of the last industry to change typically - it’s very archaic.

Realty Mogul simplifies real estate investment by connecting real estate entrepreneurs and investors through cutting-edge technology. In early 2013, the company quickly picked up steam. It was accepted into TechStars Seattle, secured a $500,000 seed round, and won the Founder Showcase Pitch Competition (see their winning pitch below).

My co-founder Justin Hughes and I started with a $110,000 real estate loan in Los Angeles. I never intended to be a revolutionary in this industry, the company just kept growing and we poured a lot of hard work to get it where it is today.”

Today, Realty Mogul is the leading online real estate capital marketplace – one that offers commercial equity and commercial debt products nationwide, educates investors, and changes the way real estate investing and financing is viewed. In just a few short years, they have returned over $50M to investors on their platform.

In congruence to Helman's go getter attitude, Realty Mogul plans to expand further with a goal of global reach.